LTS Enablement Stacks

The Ubuntu LTS enablement (also called HWE or Hardware Enablement) stacks provide newer kernel and X support for existing Ubuntu LTS releases. These enablement stacks can be installed manually but are also available when installing with Ubuntu LTS point release media. These newer enablement stacks are meant for desktop and server and even recommended for cloud or virtual images. However, if one wants to remain on the original GA (General Availability) stacks, the options are:

Install from a previous 12.04.0/12.04.1/14.04.0/14.04.1/16.04.0/16.04.1/18.04.0/18.04.1 point release and update. Previous releases are archived at http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/

Perform an update or upgrade to an LTS release from a previous release.

Perform a network install using the netboot images rather than the new <release>-netboot images.

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS - Bionic Beaver

The 18.04.2 and newer point releases will ship with an updated kernel and X stack by default for the desktop. Server installations will default to the GA kernel and provide the enablement kernel as optional.

The 18.04 HWE Stacks will follow a new Rolling Update Model as documented at the following location:

Desktop

Server

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-18.04

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS - Xenial Xerus

The 16.04.2 and newer point releases will ship with an updated kernel and X stack by default for the desktop. Server installations will default to the GA kernel and provide the enablement kernel as optional.

The 16.04 HWE Stacks will follow a new Rolling Update Model as documented at the following location:

Desktop

Server

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-16.04

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS - Trusty Tahr

The 14.04.2 and newer point releases will ship with an updated kernel and X stack by default. If you have installed with older media you can use the following to install the newer HWE kernel derived from 16.04 (Xenial):

Server

Install the HWE kernel derived from 16.04 (xenial):

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-lts-xenial

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - Precise Pangolin

The 12.04.2 and newer point releases will ship with an updated kernel and X stack by default. The current and supported hardware enablement stack is comprised of the newer kernel and X stacks from 14.04 (Trusty).

Anyone wishing to opt into the hardware enablement stack for Precise may do so running the following commands:

Check your support status

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Extended Security Maintenance

Following the end-of-life of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, Canonical is offering Ubuntu 12.04 ESM (Extended Security Maintenance), which provides important security fixes for the kernel and the most essential user space packages in Ubuntu 12.04. All Ubuntu 12.04 LTS users are encouraged to upgrade to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. But for those who cannot upgrade immediately, Ubuntu 12.04 ESM updates will help ensure the on-going security and integrity of Ubuntu 12.04 systems.

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS initially released with kernel based on version 3.2. The final hardware enablement kernel, when Ubuntu 12.04 LTS reached end of life, was based on kernel version 3.13. Both kernels are included as part of Ubuntu 12.04 ESM.

Ubuntu Kernel Release Schedule

The following is a generic view of the Ubuntu release schedule, the kernels delivered, and the support time frames. 14.04, 16.04, and 18.04 will each deliver point release updates respectively (ie. 14.04.x, 16.04.x, 18.04.x) and eventually introduce newer hardware enablement kernels. Please refer to the 14.04.x, 16.04.x, and 18.04.x Ubuntu Kernel Support diagrams in the corresponding sections below for more details.